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The Department of Justice has rejected a request by Howard Lederer’s attorneys to reconsider their client’s case on the grounds that poker was recently ruled a “game of skill” by a respected New York Supreme Court judge.
Preet Bahara, the US District Attorney overseeing the case against Lederer, rejected the request while cautioning that the DOJ was about to “include additional statutory grounds for forfeiture and other relief” as part of a second amended complaint the government intends to file prior to the September 10 deadline.
Lederer is accused by the US Justice Department of running an elaborate “ponzi scheme” through his role at Full Tilt Poker, the one time second largest online poker company.
Lederer was not named in a federal indictment against two other executives of Full Tilt Poker back in April of last year. Those two individuals, including former FTP CEO Raymond Bitar, have since voluntarily turned themselves and await trial on charges of money laundering and bank fraud. Both men have plead “Not Guilty” and remain out on bond.
Earlier in the month, the US Government agreed to allow one time rival PokerStars to acquire Full Tilt Poker’s assets provided all customers be refunded their monies. Millions of dollars in fines must also be paid by PokerStars stemming from the April 15, 2011 indictments.
Last week, Judge Jack Weinstein ruled poker to be a “game of skill” while tossing out a jury's July conviction of a man from New Jersey, Lawrence Dicristina, who was charged with conspiring to operate an illegal underground poker club from within a Staten Island warehouse.
Lederer looked to capitalize on this decision.
A partial excerpt of that request reads:
The purpose of this letter is to bring to Your Honor’s attention the recent opinion of the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in United States v. DiCristina. For Your Honor’s convenience, a copy of Judge Weinstein’s August 21, 2012 120 page Memorandum and Order is enclosed. In that opinion, Judge Weinstein holds, after extensive hearings and exhaustive reasoning, that poker does not constitute “illegal gambling” for purposes of 18 U.S.C. §1955 (IGBA). The opinion has significant implications for this case, pending before Your Honor, and in light of it, we write respectfully to suggest that the Court hold a status conference in the near future so that the parties may discuss, and the Court may consider, how best to manage this litigation in light of DiCristina.
Bahara’s office countered:
The amended complaint against Lederer and two other men noted that, while FTP maintained player funds were safe, there was actually a shortfall of approximately $130 million as a result of not maintaining the proper funds on hand.
The complaint further states that as of March 31, FTP owed players around the world $390 million, but only had $59 million on hand.
- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
